Two Central Jersey hospitals become single entity

Workers began removing the sign at Somerset Medical Center on Rehill Avenue in Somerset to put up the new Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset sign.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
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SOMERVILLE – Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Somerset Medical Center have completed their merger, creating a 965-bed hospital with campuses in New Brunswick and Somerville. Starting today, Somerset Medical Center will operate as Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset.

"For more than a century, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital has been committed to improving the health of Central New Jersey. Our expansion into Somerset County will provide direct access to the highest-quality medical services and a wider array of health care opportunities allowing us to better serve our communities and neighbors," said Stephen K. Jones, president and chief executive officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Health System in a media statement. "While we've expanded, our mission remains the same — to improve the health and well-being of the patients and communities we serve."

Paul V. Stahlin, former chairman of Somerset Medical Center's Board of Trustees, said the merger is the culmination of a process that began several years ago as a result of Somerset Medical Center's strategic plan.

"We identified where we were and how the healthcare system is changing," said Stahlin, who will now serve on the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Health System boards. "We realized then we could survive but not thrive on our present course."

This merger happened after a lengthy process of identifying possible suitors for Somerset Medical Center, he added. Stahlin said the merger will empower the Somerville campus to offer a level of care beyond what "we could provide as a community hospital." He said RWJUH offered the strongest synergy culturally, with regard to location and in the nature of services.

As a community hospital, the institution could not generate enough revenue to offer all the diverse heath-care technologies and treatments it wanted to offer, Stahlin said. But under the umbrella of RWJUH, the Somerville campus will have access to clinical trials, cutting-edge technologies and the resources of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University — assets that are vitally important to the success of the Somerville campus, he said. He also expects the merger will enable the Somerset campus to continue to attract the most skilled physicians.

Why hospitals merge

Although New Jersey had lagged behind other states in hospital mergers, Kerry McKean Kelly, vice president of communications and member services for the New Jersey Hospital Association in Princeton, said mergers are increasing in the Garden State, especially in light of the Affordable Care Act.

"Under the Affordable Care Act, there are incentives to encourage health-care providers to work together to be more efficient and less expensive," Kelly said. "In addition, there are bundled payments."

She explained that instead of dividing up payments to various providers, as in the past, the federal government, as Medicare or Medicaid, is now saying it will provide one lump payment for a treatment, and the providers — the hospital, doctors, and technicians — will have to decide among themselves how to divide up the payment. This is causing all concerned to look more closely at how they provide care and how they can do it better.

In addition, she said, hospitals know that their work isn't just about the people who come for treatment and stay in their beds for a few days or longer. They understand that ambulatory services and out-patient treatments are just as important. Mergers can give hospitals access to greater services and technologies, or even to capital that they may not have. For these reasons, about 70 percent, and perhaps even more, of New Jersey's hospitals are now part of multi-hospital systems, she said.

Positive reaction

"We are thrilled that a world-class institution like Robert Wood Johnson is coming to Somerville," said Somerset County Freeholder Patricia Walsh, who is a nurse. "I am looking forward to working with them in ensuring all the residents of Somerset County get the excellent care and expanded programs and access that RWJ is known for. Their involvement in the community in outreach, health education and preventive care will benefit all of our residents and lead to a Healthier Somerset County."

This sentiment has been reflected in interviews with doctors and administrators on both campuses.

Mariam Merced, directorof Robert Wood Johnson's Community Health Promotion Program, said her meetings with the Healthier Somerset Coalition, which includes the county's board of health, have been positive.

"I've been pleasantly surprised people are so happy to see these two fine institution coming together," Merced said. "We weren't seen as outsiders. Both institutions offer considerable expertise."

As a result of the merger, RWJUH already has had a workshop in Bound Brook for Spanish-speaking diabetic patients. Merced said the New Brunswick diabetes unit has been primarily focused on managing a chronic problem, while the Somerville unit has been more focused on prevention. Together, she said, they will offer a strong program for patients with a broad spectrum of needs for treatment and care.

Dr. Kathleen Toomey, medical director of Steeplechase Cancer Center in Somerville, said that her colleagues in New Brunswick are interested in learning more about the support groups for cancer patients at her center. These include a women's support group, a young women's breast-cancer support group, a men's cancer support group and a myeloma group that is independent of the center but which meets in the Steeplechase building. There also is a spirituality group, which Toomey says is unique.

At the same time, her center looks forward to access to more clinical trials through closer affiliation with RWJUH and more doctors on the New Brunswick campus.

"We already are members of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey," she said. "I think the institute is the second highest network in the state for accruing clinical trials. But now we will work even more closely together. And they will supply niches we don't have. For example, as a result of this merger, we will now have GYN oncologists on site."

The Steeplechase Cancer Center will continue to operate under its current name.

Improvements already starting

Dr. Jason Hall, chief of cardiology in Somerville, said staff looks forward to being part of such a large organization and the resources it will bring. One of the first benefits of the merger is that the cardiology catheter lab is getting a much-needed update with new equipment. In addition, patients will have more direct access to services such as echocardiography and surgeons in New Brunswick.

Dr. Stephern Allison, assistant vice president of cardiovascular services at RWJUH, also sees advantages in the synergy between the two campuses, because "patients will have greater ease of access." She said Somerville will continue to have all the high-quality basic services it now offers, including diagnostic services, but that there also will be RWJUH ambulances right there to transport patients who need more advanced care to New Brunswick. The advanced care will include heart-valve surgery, ventricular-assist devices and transplants.

Another of the other advantages of the merger for Somerset County patients is that through the Somerville campus, they will have greater access to the Bristol-Meyers Squibb Children's Hospital in New Brunswick, which is part of the RWJUH system.

Dr. Joseph Barone, surgeon-in-chief at the children's hospital and an assistant professor and chief of the division of urology for the department of surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said the doctors in Somerville will be able to call colleagues in New Brunswick for immediate consultations on a broad range of issues. And while pediatric surgery will remain in New Brunswick, patients in Somerville will benefit from these collaborations, even if they don't need surgery, Barone said.

Buy Photo

In this Nov. 2013 file photo, Joseph G. Barone, MD, surgeon-in-chief at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, highlights one of the new pediatric surgery rooms during the unveiling of the state-of-the-art Center for Advanced Pediatric Surgery at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Now Robert Wood is merging with the former Somerset Medical Center on June 1 as it expands its community footprint.
(Photo:
TANYA BREEN/FILE PHOTO
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Officials say that these are just some of the ways existing inpatient and outpatient services will be expanded, vital community programs will be maintained and the quality, availability, and accessibility of health care services within the communities Robert Wood Johnson University serves will be strengthened.

The Somerset Medical Center Foundation is not part of the merger. The foundation will function independently under the new name of Somerset Health Care Foundation and continue in its mission of raising funds that will stay in the community. As a sign of its commitment to enhancing the Somerville facility, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital has pledged to donate help the foundation by donating awarding a gift of $1 million per year for three years the foundation.

Patients may continue to see their existing doctors after the merger. For more information on the completed merger and services available, visit www.rwjuh.edu.

Staff Writer Pamela MacKenzie: 908-243-6616; pmackenzie@njpress

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AT A GLANCE

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick is a 600-bed academic medical center which is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the principal hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick. Robert Wood Johnson's Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center. The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. RWJUH has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report six times and has been selected by the publication as a high performing hospital in several specialties. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital has also ranked among the nation's Best Children's Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for two consecutive years. The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated RWJUH among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers and the hospital's Comprehensive Stroke Center is certified by the Joint Commission to provide complex stroke care. The Leapfrog Group rated RWJUH as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine, and has given the hospital an "A" grade for safety and quality. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified RWJUH as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. RWJUH is also a four-time recipient of the Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset is a 355-bed acute care facility in Somerville. Part of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital system, the facility provides comprehensive health care services to residents throughout Central Jersey. It is nationally recognized as a Magnet® hospital for nursing excellence. Its Steeplechase Cancer Center is designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer — a distinction achieved by only one in four hospitals nationwide that treat cancer patients. The Joint Surgery Institute at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset has earned the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for total knee and total hip replacement surgery. The medical center is designated as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. It is one of nine Medical Coordination Centers established by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services to coordinate communication among emergency responders during a disaster situation.